White Collar Crimes

9/4/2017 WHITE COLLAR CRIMES LawSchoolNotes
LawSchoolNotes
CRIMINOLOGY, NOTES FOR PROJECTS
WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
Date: June 20, 2016 0 Comments
By Harpreet Kaur, Advocate
MORE MONEY IS STOLEN AT POINT OF FOUNTAIN PEN THAN AT GUN-POINT
INTRODUCTION
The media increasingly report cases of business

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The media increasingly report cases of business or professional people caught out in serious
oences, sometimes for behaviour which they did not expect to be treated as criminal and for
which it is often dicult to secure a conviction. These crimes are of the nature of white collar
crimes which is the essential outcome of the development of the competent economy of the
twenty-rst century[1]. White collar crime aects key areas of contemporary life. Financial
scandals such as the collapse of major banks and pension frauds question the legitimacy of
the nancial world, and the climate of sleaze has become a political issue. Tax and public
sector fraud reduces government resources for health, education and welfare. The harmful
activities of corporations endanger the safety of workers, consumers and passengers, and
have a wider impact on public health and the environment[2]. Although these activities are
subject to criminal law and criminal justice, they are not regarded as crime in the same way as
burglary, robbery or assault, and they are less likely to prompt calls for tougher policing and
punishment. It is not common, for example, to hear demands for zero tolerance of fraudsters
or antisocial behaviour orders for companies.
One of the most important aspect of white collar crime is that at times, the members of
community themselves contribute to the commission of various white collar crimes willingly
or unwillingly[3]. For instance, illegal gratication to public servants to get their work done
quickly, black-marketing in times of scarcity, evasive price violations, rent-ceiling violations
etc. are some of the common examples where victims of the crime are themselves to be
blamed for involvement in white collar criminality. In fact, such crimes cannot be commi ed
unless there is a illegal demand for illegal favour from consumers and they are actively
involved in the deal.
SUTHERLANDS CONCEPT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
The concept of white collar crimes evolved with the Criminologist and Sociologist Edwin H.
Sutherland, in the year 1939, who popularised the term white collar crimes by dening such a
crime as one commi ed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of
his occupation. Sutherland also included crimes commi ed by corporations and other legal
entities within his denition.
Sutherlands study of white collar crime was prompted by the view that criminology had
incorrectly focused on social and economic determinants of crime, such as family background
and level of wealth. It is true to the common knowledge that there are certain professions
which oer lucrative opportunities for criminal acts and unethical practises which is very
often overlooked by the general mass of the society. There have been crooks and unethical
persons in business, various other professions, who tend to become unscrupulous because of
no reason apart from the thirst of gaining more and more for themselves. These deviants have
least regard for ethical and moral human values. Therefore they carry on their illegal activities
with impunity without the fear of loss of respect and prestige[4]. Sutherland pointed out that
white collar crimes dier from the crimes commi ed by the criminal syndicates. This
distinction could be based on extent of presumed respectability[5].
Sutherland further pointed out that a white

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Sutherland further pointed out that a white collar crime is more harmful than ordinary crimes
because the nancial loss to society from white collar crimes is far greater than the nancial
loss from burglaries, robberies, larcenies etc[6]. Comparing the nancial losses resulting from
white-collar crimes with those from ordinary crimes, he observes[7]:
The average loss per burglary is less than one hundred dollars, a burglary which yields as
much as fty thousand dollars is exceedingly rare and a million-dollar burglary is practically unknown.
On the other hand, there may be several million-dollar embezzlements reported in one year.
Embezzlements, however, are peccadilloes compared with the large-scale crimes commi ed by
corporations, investment trusts and public utilities holding companies, reports of fty-million dollar
losses from such criminal behaviour are by no means uncommon[8].
Sutherland carefully examined the depredations of about seventy large corporations involved
in white collar crimes and found that the charges against them included contracts,
combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade, misrepresentation in advertising,
infringements against copyrights, nancial frauds and violations of trust, breach of war-
regulations and other miscellaneous oences. But people knew very li le about the trickery of
these big business criminals and even if they knew, they were apathetic towards the problem
because of the fact that the legal ba les involved therein are dragged out for years in the
courts, with the result that the charges are forgo en long before they are se led[9].
CRITICISM OF SUTHERLANDS DEFINITION
Anthony Wlash and Lee Ellis[10] in their book writes that although this denition became
enshrined for a long time and it governed research for a long time, it was wrong in three
important ways:
Many (perhaps most) white collar criminal are not of high social status,
Many are not otherwise respectable people, and
It fails to distinguish between crimes commi ed on behalf of employer with the
employers blessings and support and crimes commi ed by individuals acting for personal
gain.
Coleman and Moynihan[11] pointed out that lack of denitive criteria for determining
who are persons of high respectability and high social status has made Sutherlands
denition most controversial. It seems like what Sutherland meant by this is absence from
convictions for crimes other than white collar crimes. The element of high social status as
used in the denition leads to confusion.
Ram Ahuja in his book[12] writes that Sutherlands emphasis on high social status
oender results in exclusion of a host of other occupation-related crimes that are similar to
white-collar crimes but are commi ed by the lower class people. For example, illegalities
such as adulteration of milk by milkman for public consumption, making unnecessary
repairs to radio and television sets by the workman and taking out few kilos of gas from
gas cylinder etc.
The term white-collar crime served to focus a ention on the social position of the
perpetrators and added a bite to commentaries about the illegal acts of businessmen,
professionals and politicians that is notably absent in the blander designations[13], such as
occupational crime[14] and economic crime[15]. The term white collar crime is
narrower as it makes reference only to

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narrower as it makes reference only to socio-economic status and not to occupational

status of the oender[16]. In other words, it includes even those violations of law which
are not commi ed in course of occupation or profession and these violations do not
necessarily belong to the upper strata of society or the so-called prestigious groups. For
example, tax evasion is not commi ed only by persons of high status but it can be
commi ed by persons belonging to meddle or even lower strata of society[17].
OTHER DEFINITIONS
Marshall Clinard dened white-collar crime as a violation of the law commi ed primarily by
groups such as businessmen, professional men, and politicians in connection with their
occupations[18].
Paul Tappan dened it as White collar crime is a special type of solitary professional
criminality. It involves real violation of criminal law systematically or repeated by business,
professional and clerical workers in addition to their occupation[19].
Also, Sir Walter Reckless said White collar crime represents the oences of businessmen who
are in position to determine the policies and activities of business[20].
Frank Hartung[21] denes white-collar crime as a violation of law regarding business which
is commi ed for a rm by a rm or its agents in the conduct of its business.
Moreover, in its Administration Improvement Act (AIA) of 1979, the U.S. Congress dened
white collar crimes as illegal act or series of illegal acts commi ed non-physical means and
by concealment or guile, to obtain money or property, or to obtain business or personal
advantage[22]. This denition focuses on characteristics of the oence as opposed to
Sutherlands focus on the oender as a high-status person. Although avoiding the problem of
social status, AIA denition fails to dierentiate between persons who commit crimes for
personal gain and those who do so primarily on behalf of the employer.
ELEMENTS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
The main elements of white collar crimes are[23]:
It involves violation of legal codes.

It takes place directly or indirectly in connection with a legitimate occupation.
It aims at gaining money.
The crime is not against a specic individual or a rm but is against society at large. There
is therefore, no specic victim who would complain.
Earlier on a person of high status commi ing this crime was considered a (white-collar)
criminal but now a person of any class violating law (dierent from one who commits an
immoral or unethical act) in the course of occupational activity is described as an
occupational oender.
The person involved in white collar crimes
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The person involved in white collar crimes generally selects that crime which involves
high stakes but carries the most negligible danger of detection and identication. Further,
it is most negligible crime against which the victims are least likely to ght.
The oender does not regard himself as a criminal but considers himself as a respectable
citizen. At the most, he regards himself a lawbreaker whose act has no victim[24].
The persons involved in illegal occupational activity adopt a policy of xing cases. It is
not only the law-enforcement ocers are xed-up but the services of politicians,
bureaucrats and inuential people are also used for protection.
The eect of this crime of much more serious for society than an ordinary crime.
CAUSATION OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
According to Hirschi and Go fredson,[25] occupational crimes dier from common street
crime only in that it is commi ed by people in a position to do so- Medical fraud can be only
done by physicians and bank embezzlements can only be commi ed by bank employees in
the position of trust. The motives of white collar crimes are same as those of street criminals-
to obtain benets quickly with minimal eorts and the age, sex and race of occupational
criminals are not that much dierent from those of street criminals. Hirschi and Go fredson
concluded that when opportunity is taken into account, demographic dierences in white
collar crimes are same as the demographic dierences in ordinary crime.
For Shapiro[26], the study of white collar crimes belongs to the wider study of maintenance
and abuse of trust. A ention should focus on the rising need to rely on the agents and the
consequent increased exposure to the risks of their malpractices. Trust is required in so far as
it is dicult to tell when agents are pu ing their self-interests above those principles,
especially as they tend to be repeat players and to act at a distance; but eorts needs to limit
their discretion are self-defeating. To understand causation there therefore needs to be the
marriage of a systematic understanding of the distribution of structural opportunities for trust
abuse with an understanding of conditions under which individual seize or ignore these illicit
opportunities.
Marshal B. Clinard[27] asserted that the problem of white collar criminality has its roots in
competitive business community which tries to oust their rival competitors in order to earn
huge prots. Sometimes such crimes may also be commi ed merely for the sake of retaining
existence in the competitive business. To illustrate[28], though there is a prescribed code of
ethics for practising lawyers but since the very nature of their profession involves the spirit of
combat and competition, they often resort unlawful tactics such as concealment or
misrepresentation of facts which if detected, is punishable under the law. Likewise, the
members of industrial and business class who enjoy high status in the society have a tendency
to suppress their prots by furnishing false and fabricated accounts of their income and
property in order to claim tax-exemptions or avoid payment of heavy taxes.
Proponents of strain theories have tried to explain the causation of white collar crimes. Most
strain theories[29] of corporate crime nd their inspiration in Mertons concept of anomie[30].
White collar crimes can be seen as innovative response on the part of businesses to strain of
conforming to cultural prescriptions to maintain

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conforming to cultural prescriptions to maintain prots even in dicult circumstances. The

strain may be located in the business environment as such in the particular industry or in
particular rm.
Sutherland has explained the process of becoming a white collar-criminal through dierential
association[31]. However, he cautiously concluded that white collar crime has not yet been
fully explained. According to him, some white collar oences represent normal business
procedures which are passed on as a part of the occupational subculture. Such procedures are
rationalised by resorting to the ideology business is business[32]. A new entrant to a business
activity not only learns all the unethical practices but is also sometimes made to use such
tactics by his superiors in the establishment. The rapid pace of social change and the technical
complexity of business aairs have aggravated social disorganization favourable to unethical
business practices.
Clinard, while agreeing with the dierential association approach of Sutherland, is of view
that all cases cannot explained by the theory[33]. Many businessmen do not commit such
oences despite their knowledge of the techniques employed in these crimes.
TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES
Herbert Edelher [34] has suggested the four types of occupational crimes on the basis of
motivation of the perpetrators:
Crimes commi ed by persons on an individual basis, e.g., income-tax evasion, bankruptcy

frauds, credit purchases or taking loans with no intention to pay and insurance fraud.
Crimes commi ed in the course of occupations by those operating in business,
government or other establishments, in violation of their duty of loyalty to the employer or
client; e.g., bribery, kickbacks, embezzlement and pilfering.
Crimes incidental to and in furtherance of business operations but not central to business
purposes; e.g., food and drug violations, misrepresentation in advertising and prescription
fraud.
Crime as a business or as the central activity of a business; e.g., medical fraud schemes,
lo ery fraud schemes, mutual fund fraud schemes, land and real estate frauds, charity and
religious frauds and music pirating.
In USA, the classication was done on the basis of crimes involved[35]:
1. Frauds in business in relation to sale of bonds and investments;

2. Adulteration of foods and drugs and misleading advertisements;
3. Malpractices in the medical profession, such as illegal services to underworld criminals,
fraudulent reports and testimony in accident cases, extreme cases of unnecessary
treatment, fake specialists, restriction of competition and fee spli ing;
4. Crimes by lawyers, such as guiding criminal or quasi-criminal activities of corporations,
twisting of testimony to give a false picture, fake claims (bogus liability in accidents) etc.;
5. Trusts, cartels, combines, syndicates etc. formed to combat competition or to raise prices or
otherwise to interfere with the freedom of trade to the detriment of honest businessmen or
the consuming public. This has now become

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the consuming public. This has now become a branch of law by itself and is usually dealt
with under the topic of anti-trust legislation;
6. Bribery and graft by public ocers[36].
Also, Hugh Barlow[37] has classied occupational crimes in six categories on the basis of
special interests: embezzlement, nancial fraud, adulteration, employee pilferage, consumer
fraud and shady land business.
ARE WHITE COLLAR CRIMES DISTINCT FROM OTHER

CRIMES?
Denition of white collar crime implies that it can be distinguished from what are often, for
comparative purposes, described as conventional or ordinary crimes. A number of distinctive
features of white collar crime have been identied, some of which are a direct consequence of
the location of oences in occupational roles, whereas others have been more often associated
with the class and status of oenders. Although these are useful tools for comparison, it is not
easy to draw clear dividing lines between dierent crime categories and that there are also
variations between dierent kinds of white collar crime. A number of characteristics are
closely related to the occupational nature of oences. Because they take place in the private
sphere of the workplace they are relatively invisible and can be concealed more easily because
business oenders are legitimately present at the scene[38]. Because they are commi ed
during the course of an occupation, they involve an abuse of the trust inherent in an
occupational role[39]. Oences are made possible by the use of some form of technical or
insider knowledge, which may be an awareness of how to use organizational routines to
conceal oending or may involve the abuse of professional, scientic or nancial
expertise[40]. This makes many oences complex, and the extent, duration and details of
oending are dicult to determine. Many are highly organized and involve several
participants with diering degrees of responsibility. In many cases, determining who is
responsible is dicult because of the diusion of responsibility in organizations, where
responsibility for particular tasks is delegated, enabling participants to blame others up or
down the hierarchy.
White Collar Oences also involve dierent pa erns of victimization, and many oences are
characterized as victimless[41]. Some oences, such as the sale of short weight goods or
abstracting small amounts of money from a large number of customers, investors, or clients
accounts, lead to small losses to individual victims. Victims may not be aware of any harm,
which is also the case with oences such as food adulteration or safety oences. Other kinds
of crime aect the public health or the environment rather than individual victims and, in
other cases, eects are immeasurable and indirect. Corruption, for example, involves
exchanges of money or favours, in which the criminal element is the abuse of trust and the
eect is on the legitimacy of institutions such as business, public service or political
organizations. This can be contrasted with the immediate, direct and measurable victimization
involved in, for example, an assault or robbery[42]. Victims lack of awareness and the
invisibility and complexity of oences make them dicult to detect, and diculties of
a ributing responsibility and obtaining evidence also make oences dicult to prosecute.
This leads to a relatively low rate of detection

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This leads to a relatively low rate of detection and prosecution. In addition, many oenders
receive what are seen as lenient sentences, which are also related to the absence of intent, lack
of direct victimization and the ambivalent criminal status of oences.
The ambiguous legal and criminal status of white collar crimes is a further characteristic, which is
also related to their treatment in the criminal justice process. In many oences there is an
apparent lack of intent, particularly where a diusion of responsibility is involved, and where,
although a regulation may have been broken, the consequences of that violation, such as
injury, were not intended. This means that the moral element so important to the denition of
crime is absent. Dierences in the legal processing of white collar crimes are therefore related
to their particular characteristics, although a major issue is how much they are also related to
the class and status of oenders.
Problems in dierentiating a white collar crime and conventional crime:
Some conventional crimes are also invisible, particularly those that take place in the
private sphere of the family. Some, like burglary or robbery, involve considerable expertise
and can also be highly organized and complex, which makes them similarly dicult to
detect.
Moreover, successful professional criminals delegate responsibility to minimize the risk of
being detected and prosecuted.
Not all conventional crime involves immediately harmed victims and those crimes that
involve willing exchanges between consenting adults, such as gambling, prostitution or
drug oences, are also represented as victimless and pose particular problems for
detection and prosecution.
A further problem with broad contrasts is that not all white collar crimes share all these
characteristics. Not all oences are equally invisible some frauds, safety or food oences
are immediately detectable. Their location in occupational roles means that most white
collar crimes do involve an abuse of occupational trust, but occupational roles vary in the
extent to which employees are trusted and oences involve varying degrees of knowledge
and expertise.
Not all white collar crimes involve complex organization employees may simply steal
money or goods and neglect of regulations may arise from ignorance or incompetence.
Pa erns of victimization vary, with some having a direct and severe impact, including
death, injury and heavy nancial losses. Some white collar oences are more
unambiguously criminal than others few would dispute, for example, that serious frauds
are crimes, and some oences more clearly involve intent than others. And as will be seen
in subsequent chapters, not all white collar crimes enjoy lenient treatment.
No clear dividing line can therefore be drawn between white collar and other crimes, and
many of these characteristics would be be er seen as representing a series of continua.
Nelken[43], for example, points out that organized crime involves cases of cold-blooded
calculation and those cases where it is dicult to distinguish malevolence from incompetence,
and also points to a continuum between accidental and deliberate, although for other crimes
the criminal sanction is less problematic.
IS WHITE COLLAR CRIME A CRIME?

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Sutherlands original inclusion of activities subject to civil and administrative laws raised the
question of how the harmful activities of dierent groups of oenders were treated dierently
by law and criminal justice, but was widely criticized as threatening the objectivity of
criminology. This led to many debates centred around the theme is white collar crime,
crime? Although this question becomes less problematic once the socially constructed nature
of crime is acknowledged, any consideration of which activities are to be included must
nonetheless take into account the signicance of law and criminal law. Adopting a legal
denition of crime may be seen as overly restrictive, but including activities not subject to
criminal law continues to a ract criticisms of political and moral subjectivity[44] .
Criticisms from writers such as Tappan[45] represented a strictly legal approach in which the
criminal law is the starting point for criminological analysis. Sutherland, however, argued that
non-criminal forms of law also result in judgements of fault and liability and are followed by
the imposition of a penalty; thus the dierence lies in procedures rather than in the wrongful
nature of activities. Later critical approaches to criminal law have also pointed to the absence
of any clear-cut criteria distinguishing crimes from other wrongs or criminal from public
law. In criminal law a distinction is made between activities that are regarded as mala in se,
wrong in themselves, and those that are regarded as mala prohibita, subject to prohibition.
For the la er, the criminal law is justied as being the most ecient way of securing
compliance with protective regulations, and violations are often seen as technical rather than
criminal oences. Many complained that white collar crimes are merely technically criminal
and not socially considered in a par with ordinary crimes; hence they do not satisfy the
sociological denition of crime[46]. Nelken pointed out, the topic of white collar crime thus
illustrates the possibility of divergence between legal social and political denitions of
criminality but in so doing it reminds us of the articiality of all denitions of crime[47].
WHITE COLLAR CRIMES IN CERTAIN PROFESSIONS IN

INDIA
Legal Profession: In India, the lawyers profession is not looked with much respect with much
respect these days. There are two obvious reasons for this. The deteriorating standards of
legal education and unethical practices resorted to by the members of legal profession which
was once considered to be one of the noblest vocations[48]. A large number of advocates
evolved, who forget the pious oath of serving the society and started looking for the legal
loopholes and concentrated mainly in helping out the rich entrepreneurs to grow richer. They
made extensive study to try out ways for maximum tax evasion for these rich corporate
personalities as well as for themselves. The white collar crimes commi ed by these legal
practitioners only conne in sorting out illegal methods of tax-evasion. There are very
frequent instances of unscrupulous and unethical practices like that of fabricating false
evidence, engaging professional witnesses, thereby violating ethical standards of legal
profession and dilatory tactics in collusion with the ministerial sta of the courts[49].
Medical Profession: In India, the white

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Medical Profession: In India, the white collar crimes are so wide spread that it does not
conne itself in the legal arena. Similar unfortunate instances can be drawn from other
professions too, like that of medical practitioners, engineers, educationalists, businessmen,
politicians and the list goes on. The medical practitioners are often found involved in issuance
of false certicates, carrying out illegal abortions, selling out sample drugs and medicine, even
in some cases adulterated drugs and medicines to the patients. Dilatory tactics are often
adopted by them in providing treatment to their patients with a menswear to extract huge
amount of money, no ma er the person has good practice. Some of the notorious instances are
like that of Nithari case, where the medical professionals put up before the society the
optimum level of brutal character they can reach for the crave of making money[50].
Misleading and fake advertisement is yet another area in which the white collar criminals
operate. They make illegal and misleading claims of medical cure through advertisements in
newspapers, magazines, radio and television thus adding to human misery. Similar
advertisements for cosmetics and adulterated food are also widespread in practices which are
injurious to public health[51]. These persons may not violate the le er of the law in its spirit
but they commit crimes which are anti-social and injurious to public health.
Engineering: Speaking of the engineers role in having their role to play in white collar
crimes, we often nd instances of underhand dealing with contractors, suppliers, passing of
sub-standard works and maintenance of bogus reports of the labour works. They nancially
earn more for their low grade works from the contractors, than they can earn for the genuine
work. Therefore, many of them, out of the greed of earning more and more, play dangerously
with thousands of lives of the individuals[52]. Scandals of this kind are reported in
newspapers and magazines almost every day. Construction of buildings, roads, canals, dams
and bridges with sub-standard material not only endangers public safety but also results into
huge loss to public exchequer[53].
Education: Another eld where white collar crimes operate with impunity are the privately
run educational institutions in this country. The governing bodies of these institutions
manage to secure large sums by way of government grants or nancial aid by submi ing
ctitious and fake details about their institutions. The teachers and other sta working in
these institutions receive a meagre salary far less than what they actually sign for, thus
allowing a big margin for the management to grab huge amount in this illegal manner[54].
They are least bothered in providing the education, but only concentrate of making business
at the cost of the childrens future. Even rackets operate in these institutions for procuring
students to appear in the examinations on the basis of manipulated eligibility certicates,
thereby damaging the standard of education in India. When it comes to the Governmental
institutions, the teachers and stas of the institutions are often found to be involved in
unscrupulous practices, since they can hardly make fortune from the inadequate salary they
receive from the government. Teachers often drag the students for taking private tuitions and
even go to the extent of blackmailing them of ruining their future, if they deny doing so[55].
Corporate World: The major role in commi ing white collar crimes are played by the business
tycoons and politicians, whose greed and wants multiply with the more they acquire. In India,
whenever any major scandal comes to the media focus, a thorough investigation always nds
an unlawful involvement of political parties in it. So far as the businessmen are concerned,
their acts of white collar crimes go beyond count. They are termed as the corporate criminals
who more often than not, are involved in illegal contracts, combination and conspiracies of
trade restraints, unfair labour practices, selling of adulterated foods and drugs, bribing of
public ocials so on and so forth. They take

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public ocials so on and so forth. They take advantage of the corporate veil and indulged in a
number of crimes. The recent Satyam scam case is one of the worth-mentioning illustrations,
where it was seen how an individual, hiding himself in the veil of incorporation, indulge in
defrauding crores of money[56].
Sutherland a ributed the highest degree of criminality to business world which includes
traders, businessmen and industrialists. It has been held that business communities in India
of large and small merchants are basically dishonest bunch of crooks.nowhere in the world
do businessmen get rich as quickly as they do in India[57]. The Report of the Monopolies
Inquiry Commission expressed great concern about the chronic problem of hoarding,
proteering and black-marketing of essential commodities by traders in India. In times of
shortage and scarcity of consumer commodities, the traders withdraw the stock and
subsequently dispose it of at exorbitant prices[58].
Although bribery is an oence under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and both bribe-taker
as well as the bribe-giver are equally punishable, but commercial agents and public ocials
indulge in illegal gratication for their personal gain and the legal restraints provided for the
purpose are hardly adequate to cure this menace[59]. It may, however, be pointed out that all
bribery cases are not only those illegal activities which the persons of prestigious group, high
social status commit in course of their legitimate business or occupation for nancial gain.
Adulteration of edible foodstus is also frequently commi ed by businessmen which is

injurious to public health. The sale and production of spurious drugs and sub-standard
medicines by manufacturers is yet another white collar crime which enables businessmen to
earn huge illegal prots[60]. The evil has become so widespread and persistent that it is
dicult to get even air, water and light unpolluted. The constant rise in price and cost of
living has made the consumers cost-conscious. The unscrupulous traders take undue
advantage of the situation and provide adulterated articles of food, drinks or drugs etc. at a
cheaper rate and earn huge prots[61]. They even do not hesitate to add poisonous
constituents to articles of food and drinks which are injurious to health. A number of deaths
are reported every year due to consumption of spurious liquor or food poisoning[62].
White collar crimes also operate in insurance business where both the insured as well as
insurer earn considerable prot by making false and fabricated claims. Instances are not
wanting when intentional house-burning, automobile destruction and even murders are
planned by the persons of respectable community in order to make good fortunes from the
manipulated insurance claims[63].
LIST OF SCAMS IN INDIA[64]
1992 -Harshad Mehta securities scam Rs 5,000 cr[65]

1994 -Sugar import scam Rs 650 cr[66]
1995 -Preferential allotment scam Rs 5,000 cr
Yugoslav Dinar scam Rs 400 cr
Meghalaya Forest scam Rs 300 cr
1996: -Fertiliser import scam Rs 1,300 cr
Urea scam Rs 133 cr[67]
Bihar fodder scam Rs 950 cr[68]
Bihar fodder scam Rs 950 cr[68]

1997 -Sukh Ram telecom scam Rs 1,500 cr[69]
SNC Lavalin power project scam Rs 374 cr
Bihar land scandal Rs 400 cr
C.R. Bhansali stock scam Rs 1,200 cr
1998 -Teak plantation swindle Rs 8,000 cr [70]
2001 -UTI scam Rs 4,800 cr
Dinesh Dalmia stock scam Rs 595 cr
Ketan Parekh securities scam Rs 1,250 cr
2002 -Sanjay Agarwal Home Trade scam Rs 600 cr
2003 -Telgi stamp paper scam Rs 172 cr
2005 -IPO-Demat scam Rs 146 cr
Bihar ood relief scam Rs 17 cr
Scorpene submarine scam Rs 18,978 cr
2006 Punjab s City Centre project scam Rs 1,500 cr,
Taj Corridor scam Rs 175 cr[71]
2008 -Pune billionaire Hassan Ali Khan tax default Rs 50,000 cr
The Satyam scam Rs 10,000 cr
Army ration pilferage scam Rs 5,000 cr
The 2-G spectrum swindle Rs 60,000 cr
State Bank of Saurashtra scam Rs 95 cr
Illegal monies in Swiss banks, as estimated in 2008 Rs 71,00,000 cr
2009: -The Jharkhand medical equipment scam Rs 130 cr
Rice export scam Rs 2,500 cr
Orissa mine scam Rs 7,000 cr[72]
Madhu Koda mining scam Rs 4,000 cr[73]
2010: 2G Spectrum Scam worth Rs. 176000 cr
2011: -Maharastra Adarsh Housing Society scam
-Tatra scam Rs. 7.5 billion (US$120 million)
-NTRO scam Rs.8 billion (US$130 million)
2012:- Indian Coal Mining Controversy Rs. 185591.34 cr
-Karnatka Wakf Board Scam Rs. 200000 cr
-U arPradesh NRHM scam Rs. 10000cr
2013:- Virbhadra Singh Bribery Controversy Rs. 2.4 cr[74]
SUGGESTIONS
Creating public awareness against these crimes through the media of press, platform and
other audio-visual aids. Intensive legal literacy programmes may perhaps help in reducing
the incidence of white collar criminality to a considerable extent.
Special tribunals should be constituted

https://lawschoolnotes.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/white-collar-crimes/ with the power to award sentence of imprisonment 12/23
Special tribunals should be constituted with the power to award sentence of imprisonment
up to fourteen years for white collar criminals.
Stringent regulatory laws and drastic punishment for these criminals may help in
preventing these crimes. It was observed in H. Haskot v. State of Maharasthra[75] that white
collar oenders should be dealt with sternly by prescribing stier punishments keeping in
view the gravity caused society because of these crimes. The Supreme Court said soft
sentencing justice is gross injustice where many innocents are the potential victims.
A separate chapter on white collar crimes and socio-economic oences should be
incorporated in IPC.
CONCLUSION
White collar crime is, therefore, a complex area to conceptualize. It remains on the sidelines of
criminology and poses analytical, denitional and research problems. Many of the issues
surrounding its denition and its relationship to other crimes remain unresolved and aect
estimates of its extent, explorations of its nature and impact and approaches to its analysis. It
asks major questions about the denition of crime, the role of class status and power in
criminalization and law enforcement and the scope of criminology. White collar crime is used
as an umbrella term encompassing both occupational and organizational crime. It is intended
to be inclusive, including activities of employees across the occupational hierarchy along with
many harmful and illegal activities that are not at present regulated by criminal law. This
avoids the narrowness of referring only to criminal law at the same time as avoiding the
subjectivity of ignoring law entirely. Adopting an inclusive denition of the subject means
that its scope is extremely broad, and that it includes activities ranging from the crimes of
individual employees and small businesses, through those of managers, executives and
owners of companies, to corporate crime and crimes of governments and states, such as war
crimes or the state-organized terrorism.
[1]Dr. J. Khaja Sheri & G. Nagarajan, White Collar Crimes In India, International Journal Of
Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research, Vol.1, Issue 9, September 2012, Issn :2277 3630,
available at h p://Indianresearchjournals.Com/Pdf/Ijssir/2012/September/16.Pdf
[2] Hazel Croall, Understanding White Collar Crimes, Bukhingham: Open University Press, 2001,
available at h ps://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/0335204279.pdf
[3] Dr. N.V. Paranjape, Criminology & Penology with Victimology, Allahabad: Central Law
Publication, 2012, 15th ed., p.127
[4]Dr. J. Khaja Sheri & G. Nagarajan, White Collar Crimes In India, International Journal Of
[6] Supra note 5, p.126
[7] Ahmed Siddiques Criminology: Problems

https://lawschoolnotes.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/white-collar-crimes/ and Perspectives, Lucknow: Eastern Book 13/23
[7] Ahmed Siddiques Criminology: Problems and Perspectives, Lucknow: Eastern Book
Company, 2005, 5th ed., p.406
[8] Sutherland, Crime and Business, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science, 1941, p.112 cited at Ahmed Siddique, p. 406
[9] Akshat Khare, Doctrinal Report on White Collar Crimes, available at

h p://www.mosonleexparts.org/Articals/Doctrinal_report-by_Akshat_Khare.pdf
[10] Anthony Walsh & Lee Ellis, Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach, New Delhi: Sage
Publications, p. 399
[11] Coleman & Moynihan, Understanding Criminal Data, 1996, pp. 8-10, cited at Dr. N.V.
Paranjape, Criminology & Penology with Victimology, Allahabad: Central Law Publication, 2012,
15th ed., p.128
[12] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, p. 173
[13] Anil Kumar, Criminology: Principles and Concepts, Delhi: Ancient Publishing House, 1st ed.,
2011, p. 127
[14] Occupational crimes refer to those illegal activities that occur in connection with persons
job or work.
[15] Economic crimes can be dened as crimes of prot which take place within the
framework of commercial activity.
[16] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, p.173
[18] Marshall Clinard, The Black Market (New York: Rinehart and Co., 1952) p. 127 cited at
Kam C Wong, From White-Collar Crime to Organizational Crime: An Intellectual History, Murdoch
University Electronic Journal of Law, at
h p://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MurUEJL/2005/14.html
[19] Sanjay S. Bang, A Critical Study Of White Collar Crimes In India, available at
h p://researchaccess.in/DOCS/Critical_study_of_white_collar_crime.docx
[20] Ibid.
[21] American Journal of Sociology, July 1950, pp.25-30 cited at Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New
Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, p. 172
[22] Anthony Walsh & Lee Ellis, Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach, New Delhi: Sage
Publications, p. 399
[23] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, pp.173-174
[24] Ibid.
[25] T. Hirschi & M. Go fredson, Causes
https://lawschoolnotes.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/white-collar-crimes/ of White Collar Crimes, (1987) cited at Anthony 14/23
[25] T. Hirschi & M. Go fredson, Causes of White Collar Crimes, (1987) cited at Anthony
Walsh & Lee Ellis, Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach, New Delhi: Sage Publications, p.
401
[26]Mike Maguire, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, p.854
[28] Ibid.
[29] Mike Maguire, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, p.855
[30] Anomie refers to a condition in which society provides li le moral guidance to

individuals. It is the breakdown of social bonds between an individual and the community
e.g. if under unruly scenarios resulting in fragmentation of social identity and rejection of self-
regulatory values.
[31] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, p.186
[32] Ahmed Siddiques Criminology: Problems and Perspectives, Lucknow: Eastern Book
Company, 2005, 5th ed., p.420
[33] Ibid.
[34] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, p. 174
[35] Law Commission Report, No.29, 1966, pp.10-11, cited at Ahmed Siddiques Criminology:
Problems and Perspectives, Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 2005, 5th ed., p. 407
[36] Taft and England, Criminology, p.200 cited at Ahmed Siddiques Criminology: Problems
and Perspectives, Lucknow: Eastern Book Company, 2005, 5th ed., p. 407
[37] Man, Crime and Society, 1970, pp. 227-230, cited at Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi:
Rawat Publications, 2000, p.175
[38] Hazel Croall, Understanding White Collar Crimes, Bukhingham: Open University Press,
2001, available at h ps://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/0335204279.pdf
[39] Shapiro cited at Mike Maguire, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook
of Criminology, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, p.854
[40] T. Hirschi & M. Go fredson, Causes of White Collar Crimes, (1987) cited at Anthony
Walsh & Lee Ellis, Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Approach, New Delhi: Sage Publications, p.
401
[41] Ram Ahuja, Criminology, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 2000, pp.173-174
[42] Ibid.
[43] Supra note 41.
[43] Supra note 41.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Paul W. Tappan, Who is Criminal?, American Sociological Review, 1977, cited at Mike
Maguire, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology, New York:
Oxford University Press, 2002, p.854
[46] Mike Maguire, Rod Morgan & Robert Reiner (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology,
New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.852-853
[47] Hazel Croall, Understanding White Collar Crimes, Bukhingham: Open University Press,
2001, available at h ps://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/openup/chapters/0335204279.pdf
[49] Dr. J. Khaja Sheri & G. Nagarajan, White Collar Crimes In India, International Journal Of
[50] Ibid.
[53] Supra note 41.
[54] Supra note 42, p.134
[56] Ibid.
[57] N.R.M Menons unpublished dissertation entitled, A Socio-legal Study of White Collar
Crime in India, 1968, cited at Dr. N.V. Paranjape, Criminology & Penology with Victimology,
Allahabad: Central Law Publication, 2012, 15th ed., p.135
[58] Report of the Monopolies Inquiry Commission, 1965, p. 165, cited at Anil Kumar,
Criminology: Principles and Concepts, Delhi: Ancient Publishing House, 1st ed., 2011, p.145
[59] R.S. Nayak v. A.R. Antuley, AIR 1984 SC 684
[60] Pharmaceutical Inquiry Commi ee

https://lawschoolnotes.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/white-collar-crimes/ Report, 154, p.146, cited at Dr. N.V. Paranjape, 16/23
[60] Pharmaceutical Inquiry Commi ee Report, 154, p.146, cited at Dr. N.V. Paranjape,
Criminology & Penology with Victimology, Allahabad: Central Law Publication, 2012, 15th ed.,
pp.135-136
[61] K.D. Gaur (Ed.), Criminal Law and Criminology, Deep & Deep Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2003,
p.285
[62] Ibid.
[64] Following list is not comprehensive.
[65] Harshad Mehta manipulated banks to siphon o money and invested the funds in the
stock market, leading to a crash. The loss: Rs 5,000 crore.
[66] As food minister, Kalpnath Rai presided over the import of sugar at a price higher than
that of the market, causing a loss of Rs 650 crore to the exchequer. He resigned following the
allegations.
[67] C.S. Ramakrishnan, MD, National Fertiliser, and a group of businessmen close to the P.V.
Narasimha Rao regime eeced the government and took Rs 133 crore from the import of two
lakh tonne of urea, which was never delivered.
[68] The accountant generals concerns about the withdrawal of excess funds by Bihars
animal husbandry department unveiled a Rs 950-crore scam involving Lalu Prasad Yadav,
then the state chief minister. He resigned a year later.
[69] Former minister of state for communication Sukh Ram was accused of causing a loss of Rs
1.6 crore to the exchequer by favouring a Hyderabad- based private rm in the purchase of
telecom equipment. He, along with two others, was convicted in 2002.
[70] It was as innovative a swindle as any eected in the world. Savvy entrepreneurs
convinced gullible investors that given the right irrigation and fertilizer inputs, teak,
strawberries, and anything else that could be grown, would grow anywhere in the country.
The promoters could aord to collect money from investors and not worry about retribution
(or returns, for that ma er). For, plantation companies fell under the purview of neither SEBI
nor Reserve Bank of India . Indeed, they didnt even come under the scope of the Department
decided to change things in 1999, enough investors had been gulled: 653 companies, between
them, had raised Rs. 2,563 crore from investors. To date, not many investors have got their
principals back, just another armation of the old saying about money not growing on trees.
[71] SC refuses to quash PIL against Mayawati in Taj corridor scam.
[72] Orissa mine scam could be worth more than Rs 14k cr
[73] List of scams in India, available at h p://www.theindependentindia.com/p/list-of-scams-in-

india.html
[74] Arun Jaitely had accused Mr. Singh

https://lawschoolnotes.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/white-collar-crimes/ of giving extension to the promoters of Venture 17/23
[74] Arun Jaitely had accused Mr. Singh of giving extension to the promoters of Venture
Energy and Technology Private Limited for completing a hydel power project, despite the
State governments decision to terminate the contract on grounds of default in execution. The
BJP leader alleged that Vakamulla Chandrashekhar, promoter of the company, gave an
unsecured loan of Rs. 1.5 crore and Rs. 2.40 crore to Ms. Pratibha Singh and Mr. Singh
respectively. See, h p://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cbi-examining-jaitleys-le er-against-
virbhadra-singh/article5523230.ece
[75] (1978) 3 SCC 544
image source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/white-collar-crime-

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ADULTERATION OF FOODS AIA 1979 ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ASSAULT BANKRUPTCY

FRAUDS BLACK-MARKETING BRIBERY BURGLARY CAUSATION OF WHITE COLLAR
CRIMES CONCLUSION CONSUMER FRAUD CRIME AS A BUSINESS CRIMES BY LAWYERS CRIMES
COMMITTED IN OCCUPATION CRIMES INCIDENTAL TO AND IN FURTHERANCE OF BUSINESS
OPERATIONS CRIMINOLOGY CRITICISM OF SUTHERLAND'S DEFINITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
CONVENTIONAL CRIMES AND WHITE COLLAR CRIMES DIFFERENTIAL ASSOCIATION ECONOMY EDWIN
H. SUTHERLAND ELEMENTS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES EMBEZZLEMENTS EMPLOYEE
PILFERAGE FINANCIAL SCANDALS FRAUDS IN BUSINESS ILLEGAL GRATIFICATION IS WHITE COLLAR

CRIME A CRIME LIST OF SCAMS IN INDIA MALPRACTICES IN MEDICAL PROFESSION OFFENCES IN
OCCUPATIONAL ROLES OFFENCES OF BUSINESSMEN ORGANIZED TERRORISM PERSON OF HIGH
STATUS PROFESSIONAL CRIME PUBLIC
AWARENESS ROBBERY SCAMS SSCANDALS SUGGESTIONS SUTHERLAND SUTHERLAND'S
CONCEPT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES SUTHERLAND'S STUDY OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES TAX AND PUBLIC
SECTOR FRAUD TAX EVASION TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES UNETHICAL BUSINESS
PRACTICES UNETHICAL PRACTICIES VIOLATION OF LAW REGARDING BUSINESS WAR CRIMES WHITE
COLLAR CRIMES WHITE COLLAR CRIMINALITY ZERO TOLERANCE
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9/4/2017 WHITE COLLAR CRIMES LawSchoolNotes

CRIMINOLOGY, NOTES FOR PROJECTS

Date: June 20, 2016 0 Comments

By Harpreet Kaur, Advocate

MORE MONEY IS STOLEN AT POINT OF FOUNTAIN PEN THAN AT GUN-POINT

The media increasingly report cases of business

SUTHERLANDS CONCEPT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

Sutherland further pointed out that a white

CRITICISM OF SUTHERLANDS DEFINITION

narrower as it makes reference only to

narrower as it makes reference only to socio-economic status and not to occupational

ELEMENTS OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

The main elements of white collar crimes are[23]:

It involves violation of legal codes.

CAUSATION OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

conforming to cultural prescriptions to maintain

conforming to cultural prescriptions to maintain prots even in dicult circumstances. The

TYPES OF WHITE COLLAR CRIMES

Crimes commi ed by persons on an individual basis, e.g., income-tax evasion, bankruptcy

In USA, the classication was done on the basis of crimes involved[35]:

1. Frauds in business in relation to sale of bonds and investments;

the consuming public. This has now become

ARE WHITE COLLAR CRIMES DISTINCT FROM OTHER

This leads to a relatively low rate of detection

Problems in dierentiating a white collar crime and conventional crime:

IS WHITE COLLAR CRIME A CRIME?

WHITE COLLAR CRIMES IN CERTAIN PROFESSIONS IN

Medical Profession: In India, the white

public ocials so on and so forth. They take

Adulteration of edible foodstus is also frequently commi ed by businessmen which is

LIST OF SCAMS IN INDIA[64]

1992 -Harshad Mehta securities scam Rs 5,000 cr[65]

Bihar fodder scam Rs 950 cr[68]

-Tatra scam Rs. 7.5 billion (US$120 million)

-NTRO scam Rs.8 billion (US$130 million)

2012:- Indian Coal Mining Controversy Rs. 185591.34 cr

-Karnatka Wakf Board Scam Rs. 200000 cr

-U arPradesh NRHM scam Rs. 10000cr

2013:- Virbhadra Singh Bribery Controversy Rs. 2.4 cr[74]

Special tribunals should be constituted

[6] Supra note 5, p.126

[7] Ahmed Siddiques Criminology: Problems

[9] Akshat Khare, Doctrinal Report on White Collar Crimes, available at

[30] Anomie refers to a condition in which society provides li le moral guidance to

[43] Supra note 41.

[53] Supra note 41.

[54] Supra note 42, p.134

[59] R.S. Nayak v. A.R. Antuley, AIR 1984 SC 684

[60] Pharmaceutical Inquiry Commi ee

[64] Following list is not comprehensive.

[71] SC refuses to quash PIL against Mayawati in Taj corridor scam.

[72] Orissa mine scam could be worth more than Rs 14k cr

[73] List of scams in India, available at h p://www.theindependentindia.com/p/list-of-scams-in-

[74] Arun Jaitely had accused Mr. Singh

[75] (1978) 3 SCC 544

image source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/white-collar-crime-

ADULTERATION OF FOODS AIA 1979 ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR ASSAULT BANKRUPTCY

PILFERAGE FINANCIAL SCANDALS FRAUDS IN BUSINESS ILLEGAL GRATIFICATION IS WHITE COLLAR

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